A heated altercation broke out on Wednesday in Saida between a Lebanese army officer and several press photographers who had come to cover the site of an Israeli drone strike which targeted a utility vehicle earlier in the day. The incident gave rise to shoving, tense verbal exchanges and the temporary confiscation of a photographer’s phone, before the situation was finally defused following interventions by the army’s orientation directorate and the Press Photographers’ Union.
According to our correspondent in South Lebanon, Mountasser Abdallah, the events occurred shortly after an Israeli strike that occurred before 1 p.m., which killed the driver of a vehicle and injured his passenger near the city’s stadium. On site, several photographers quickly went to document the scene. “When we arrived, everything was finished. There were no deaths or injuries in the vehicle remaining at the scene. Other photographers were already present, some live. We did our job as we do every time we strike, and the police were on the scene,” he told AFP. The Orient-The Day independent photographer Fadel Itani.
“It was then that a Lebanese army officer arrived with his team, who seemed determined to keep the photographers away. Neither one nor two, he orders us to move away, using gutter language. Time to step back, my colleague Mohammad Zeinati (Al-Afdal TV) was jostled and reacted by asking the lieutenant to tone down his remarks. The tone rose between them. I tried to intervene to calm the situation, but I was pushed around in turn. Mohammad received two blows. He then threatened to call the army orientation directorate (which is responsible for relations with the press), which pushed the officer to confiscate his phone,” Fadel Itani further reports.
The incident was quickly contained, after interventions from both sides, and Mohammad Zeinati recovered his phone. But the incomprehension remains. “Why this foul tone, when we have not disrespected the army? “, asks the photographer.
The reaction of the Union of Press Photographers in Lebanon was quick. In a statement, he condemned “the aggression against Mohammad Zeinati, Fadel Itani and other colleagues, while they were carrying out their professional duty by covering the Israeli aggression in Saida.” “The union considers this aggression unacceptable on the part of a historic national institution, supposed to protect journalists and civilians who were carrying out their mission of transmitting the truth.”
While affirming its respect for the role played by security institutions in maintaining order, the union categorically rejects any attack on journalists during the exercise of their work and ensures that the press photographer is not part of the conflict, but just a witness to the events and transmitter of the facts. “Targeting him constitutes a flagrant violation of press freedom and citizens’ right to information,” insisted the press release, calling on the commander-in-chief of the army to conduct an investigation to clarify the facts. The union also calls on the Minister of Information to take a firm stand and guarantee the protection of journalists and photographers during the exercise of their missions.
